Computer memory content movement

ABSTRACT

In some examples, computer memory content movement may include ascertaining a request associated with content of computer memory. Based on a determination that the request is directed to the content that is to be moved from a source of the computer memory to a destination of the computer memory, a determination may be made as to whether the content is at the source, is in a process of being moved from the source to the destination, or has been moved from the source to the destination. Based on a determination that the content is at the source, the request may be performed using the source. Based on a determination that the content is in the process of being moved, the request may be performed using the source. Further, based on a determination that the content has been moved, the request may be performed using the destination.

PRIORITY

This application is a Non-Provisional application of commonly assignedand U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/583,942, filed Nov. 9,2017, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

A computer system may include various types of computer memory. Forexample, the computer memory may include random access memory (RAM) thatis used for primary storage in a computer system. The computer systemmay also include read-only memory, flash memory, magnetic computerstorage devices, etc.

The computer memory may be non-uniform in that different tiers of thecomputer memory may include different values for qualities includinglatency, throughput, endurance, and capacity. Latency may be describedas a delay before a transfer of data or execution of a command beginsfollowing an associated instruction for transfer of the data orexecution of the command. Throughput may be described as a rate at whichdata may be read from or stored into the computer memory. Further,endurance may be described as the number of program and/or erase cyclesthat may be applied to the computer memory before the computer memorybecomes unreliable. Capacity may be described as a size of storageavailable to store content.

In order to optimize the computer system performance, content in thecomputer memory may need to be moved, for example, for re-allocation ofthe computer memory. For example, content in the computer memory mayneed to be placed in an appropriate tier of the computer memory. In thisregard, there may be situations where the content is to be moved fromone physical location to another, without stopping or otherwise delayingthe possible users of the computer memory. For example, for anhypervisor in a non-uniform memory system, a specified portion of thecomputer memory may need to be relocated between different physicallocations. In this regard, it is technically challenging to relocate thespecified portion of the computer memory without any interruption withrespect to usage of the specified portion of the computer memory. Forexample, usage of the specified portion of the computer memory mayinclude direct memory access from peripheral devices such as a networkor a solid-state drive (SSD), and a hypervisor may not be aware of howor when the direct memory access may be scheduled. In this regard, it istechnically challenging to move memory blocks in such a way that thememory block user perceives no interruption or error.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example andnot limited in the following figure(s), in which like numerals indicatelike elements, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a layout of a computer memory content movementapparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a layout including bulk memory andmemory accessible via double data rate (DDR) interface standards (e.g.,DDR4, DDR5, etc.) for the computer memory content movement apparatus ofFIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of movement of content in active use froma source to a destination for the computer memory content movementapparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate examples of implementation of a reflective copyfunction for the computer memory content movement apparatus of FIG. 1 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram for computer memory content movementin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method for computer memory contentmovement in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram for computer memory content movementin accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure isdescribed by referring mainly to examples. In the following description,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present disclosure. It will be readily apparenthowever, that the present disclosure may be practiced without limitationto these specific details. In other instances, some methods andstructures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarilyobscure the present disclosure.

Throughout the present disclosure, the terms “a” and “an” are intendedto denote at least one of a particular element. As used herein, the term“includes” means includes but not limited to, the term “including” meansincluding but not limited to. The term “based on” means based at leastin part on.

Apparatuses for computer memory content movement, methods for computermemory content movement, and non-transitory computer readable mediahaving stored thereon machine readable instructions to provide computermemory content movement are disclosed herein. The apparatuses, methods,and non-transitory computer readable media disclosed herein address atleast the aforementioned technical challenges by providing forcontinuous use of computer memory while content of the computer memoryis moved from a source of the computer memory to a destination of thecomputer memory. That is, for a computer system that may include aplurality of classes (e.g., tiers) of computer memory, and content is tobe moved between different locations associated with the computermemory, the apparatuses, methods, and non-transitory computer readablemedia disclosed herein may provide for such content movement in a mannerthat is not visible (e.g., transparent) to guest devices such as guestvirtual machines. In this regard, the content may be transparently movedbetween memory sub-systems of the same or different characteristics.According to examples, a hypervisor or host process within thehypervisor may control the movement of the content.

For the apparatuses, methods, and non-transitory computer readable mediadisclosed herein, the content may be moved from one physical memorylocation to another physical memory location, while maintaining that avirtual machine has access to the current version of the content. Fromthe point of a virtual machine that requests access to the content, thevirtual machine may operate using the same logical address at all times.The physical address associated with the content may be changed asfollows. At the beginning, the physical address of the content may bethe source range where that content is located. Upon deciding to movethe content, the movement will have a destination, which is a differentphysical address range which currently does not contain the content. Tomove the content from the source to the destination, while the virtualmachine sees the same virtual address (e.g., logical address) for thecontent at all times, the virtual machine may not perceive occurrence ofthe movement.

The apparatuses, methods, and non-transitory computer readable mediadisclosed herein may utilize a map page table to provide for continuoususe of the computer memory while the content of the computer memory ismoved. The movement of the content may be for the purpose of copying thecontent from the source to the destination. In this regard, a user ofthe computer memory may be temporarily redirected to a reflective copymodule that performs a reflective copy function including tracking ofthe state of a move, and redirecting user access to either the source orthe destination, depending upon how the progress of the move defines acurrent state of the move. When the move is complete, the page table maybe updated to point to the destination, and the reflective copy functionmay be used for a different move.

According to examples, the apparatuses, methods, and non-transitorycomputer readable media disclosed herein may provide an operating system(OS), a hypervisor, or another such device, to be able to move contentfrom one physical device to another while the content remains in activeuse by both code and devices, where the use of the content may migratefrom a previous physical location (e.g., a source) to a new physicallocation (e.g., a destination). In this regard, the apparatuses,methods, and non-transitory computer readable media disclosed herein mayprovide for continuous operation of a hypervisor (or another device) sothat is no pause in the hypervisor functionality during a move,including no interruptions or failure of direct memory access activity.

According to examples, the apparatuses, methods, and non-transitorycomputer readable media disclosed herein may include the reflective copymodule to move (e.g., by copying) content from a source to adestination. The reflective copy module may advertise an address rangeof a same size as a page that includes the content, where the page maybe moved from the source to the destination. The reflective copy modulemay implement any reads or writes within its own range by referencingeither the source or the destination, depending upon the progress of themove. The move of the content may be combined with a particular orderingof changing of the mapping in a page table from the source, to thereflective copy module, to the destination, in combination withpreparation, operation, and completion of a move.

According to examples, the apparatuses, methods, and non-transitorycomputer readable media disclosed herein may provide for transparency ofmovement of content from a source to a destination. In this regard, theapparatuses, methods, and non-transitory computer readable mediadisclosed herein may provide the ability to move content from onephysical location to another physical location, and to convert guest(e.g., a user of the computer memory) use from one physical location toanother physical location, without any pause in input/output activitythe guest may be conducting. The apparatuses, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media disclosed herein may provide fora hypervisor to be able to continually adjust memory occupancy toachieve balance between different physical types of memory, or betweenlocal and more distant memory. The apparatuses, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media disclosed herein may operateindependently of a particular cache hierarchy in the central processingunit (CPU), and may be applicable to relatively large pages (e.g., 2 MB,1 GB, etc.).

According to examples, the apparatuses, methods, and non-transitorycomputer readable media disclosed herein may be implemented byprogramming a section of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), oranother such device.

For the apparatuses, methods, and non-transitory computer readable mediadisclosed herein, modules, as described herein, may be any combinationof hardware and programming to implement the functionalities of therespective modules. In some examples described herein, the combinationsof hardware and programming may be implemented in a number of differentways. For example, the programming for the modules may beprocessor-executable instructions stored on a non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the modules mayinclude a processing resource to execute those instructions. In theseexamples, a computing device implementing such modules may include themachine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and theprocessing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readablestorage medium may be separately stored and accessible by the computingdevice and the processing resource. In some examples, some modules maybe implemented in circuitry.

FIG. 1 illustrates a layout of an apparatus for computer memory contentmovement (hereinafter also referred to as “apparatus 100”) according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 may include a requestdetermination module 102 to ascertain a request 104 associated withcontent 106 of computer memory 108. The computer memory 108 may beincluded in a computer system 110.

A request analysis module 112 may determine whether the request 104 isdirected to the content 106 that is to be moved from a source 114 of thecomputer memory 108 to a destination 116 of the computer memory 108.

According to examples, the request analysis module 112 may determine,based on an analysis of a map page table 118, whether the request 104 isdirected to the content 106 that is to be moved from the source 114 tothe destination 116. The map page table 118 may include an indication ofwhether the content 106 is located at the source 114, at the destination116, or is to be moved from the source 114 to the destination 116. Inthis regard, the request analysis module 112 may determine, by using thepage table 118, that a memory region requested by a guest is locatedsuccessively at the physical source 114, at the address of a reflectivecopy module 120, and finally at the physical destination 116, and thisdetermination may guide memory requests on behalf of the guest to beperformed originally by the source memory, then by the reflective copymodule 120 for the duration of the move, and then by the destinationmemory after the move is complete.

According to examples, the source 114 and the destination 116 may beassigned to different performance tiers of the computer memory 108. Forexample, the different performance tiers may include different qualitiesincluding latency, throughput, endurance, etc.

Based on a determination that the request 104 is directed to the content106 that is to be moved from the source 114 to the destination 116, thereflective copy module 120 may determine whether the content 106 is atthe source 114, is in a process of being moved from the source 114 tothe destination 116, or has been moved from the source 114 to thedestination 116.

Based on a determination that the content 106 is at the source 114, thereflective copy module 120 may perform the request 104 associated withthe content 106 using the source 114.

Based on a determination that the content 106 is in the process of beingmoved from the source 114 to the destination 116, the reflective copymodule 120 may perform the request 104 associated with the content 106using the source 114.

Based on a determination that the content 106 has been moved from thesource 114 to the destination 116, the reflective copy module 120 mayperform the request 104 associated with the content 106 using thedestination 116.

According to examples the computer memory 108 may include a page 122that includes the content 106. In this regard, the page may be movedfrom the source 114 to the destination 116. Further, the reflective copymodule 120 may determine, for the page 122 that includes an associatedmemory address range 124, whether the content 106 is included in aportion of the memory address range 124 for which all contents have beenmoved from the source 114 to the destination 116. Based on adetermination that the content 106 is included in the portion of thememory address range 124, the reflective copy module 120 may perform therequest 104 associated with the content 106 using the destination 116.Further, based on a determination that the content 106 is not includedin the portion of the memory address range 124, the reflective copymodule 120 may perform the request 104 associated with the content 106using the source 114. Thus, with respect to a move, the reflective copymodule 120 may be prepared with the source 114 and the destination 116,and enabled to begin reflecting. The page table 118 may direct guestaccesses to the reflective copy module 120, where copying may beactivated, and upon completion of the copy, the page table 118 may bechanged to direct guest accesses to the destination 116, after which thereflective copy module 120 may be stopped and reset. The source physicalmemory may now be assigned to other uses.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a layout including bulk memory andmemory accessible via DDR interface standards (e.g., DDR4, DDR5, etc.)for the apparatus 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, pages that include relatively limited usage (e.g.,where the usage for a time duration is under a specified threshold) maybe accessed from bulk memory at 200 via an input/output bus such asperipheral component interconnect express (PCIe) 202, and pages thatinclude higher usage (e.g., where the usage for a time duration exceedsa specified threshold) may be moved by the reflective copy module 120into the memory at 204 accessible via DDR4 or DDR5 interface standards.Further, if needed, the reflective copy module 120 may move the mosthighly used pages (e.g., where the usage for a time duration exceeds aspecified high threshold) of memory into dynamic random-access memory(DRAM) dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) (not shown). Similarly, forpages in the DRAM that are no longer the most highly used, thereflective copy module 120 may move such pages to the memory accessiblevia DDR4 or DDR5 interface standards, or to the bulk memory. The bulkmemory may be described as high-capacity memory used in connection withthe computer system 110 for bulk storage of large quantities of data,e.g., flash disk, RAM, etc.

The pages in the bulk memory at 200 may be assigned by the map pagetable 118. Since the bulk memory at 200 may represent the largest partof the computer memory 108, most pages may be located in the bulk memoryat 200. This is because for increased performance, a majority of thememory at 204 may need to remain unused.

As disclosed herein, for pages that include a relatively large number ofaccesses (e.g., read and/or write accesses), such pages may be moved bythe reflective copy module 120 into the DRAM (not shown). For pages inthe DRAM that are no longer the most highly used, the reflective copymodule 120 may move such pages to the memory accessible via DDR4 or DDR5interface standards, or to the bulk memory. Movement of the pages fromthe DRAM to the memory accessible via DDR4 or DDR5 interface standards,or to the bulk memory may provide space in the DRAM for other such pagesto be promoted to the DRAM.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of movement of content in active use froma source to a destination for the apparatus 100 in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, if there is a page 122 in the computer memory 108that needs to be moved to a different physical range, the reflectivecopy module 120 may maintain consistency with concurrent writes to thesame memory. The reflective copy module 120 may use a copy operationdenoted as a fold operation. The fold operation may be implemented inFPGA, in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), in the CPU,or in another suitable component of the computer system 110. The foldoperation may provide for the memory address range 124 to be copiedwhile still in use, for example, by guest virtual machines. The foldoperation may be described as a sequential copy of a block which tracksthe address below which memory has been copied, and above which thememory is not yet copied, where the address may be denoted the foldaddress.

The fold may move sequentially through the page 122, copying by readingan item (e.g., a cache line size) of the content 106 from the source 114and writing it to the destination 116. If an outside operation (e.g.,the request 104) is directed to the memory address range 124, then thereflective copy module 120 may perform the operation using either to thebulk memory or to the DDR, according to how far the copy has progressed(e.g., where the “fold” is). If a concurrent write coincides exactly atthe fold, then the fold may either incorporate the change, oralternatively, the fold may cancel and retry part of the copy, so as tobe consistent and not lose the written value.

In this manner, the reflective copy module 120 may enable a transparentmove of the content 106 from the source 114 to the destination 116. Thehypervisor may use the reflective copy module 120 in conjunction withpage tables to effect the move of the content 106 transparently. Themove may be transparent to any CPU operation or device input/outputwhich uses guest address spaces, which may be managed by the hypervisorand translated to physical addresses by the page table 118 entries.

The source 114 and the destination 116 may be any memory type. Forexample, the reflective copy module 120 may move the content 106 betweenbulk memory (e.g., the source or the destination) and DRAM (e.g., thedestination or the source). Alternatively or additionally, thereflective copy module 120 may move the content 106 from DRAM to DRAM,or from bulk memory to bulk memory, and generally between sockets, etc.The aspect of moving the content 106 from DRAM to DRAM, or from bulkmemory to bulk memory, etc., may provide for rebalancing of workloads ina multiple socket machine.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate examples of implementation of a reflective copyfunction for the apparatus 100 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the computer system 110 may include aplurality of the reflective copy modules located at various positions ofthe computer system 110. For example, the reflective copy module 120 maybe located on the CPU. Alternatively or additionally, the reflectivecopy module 120 may be located on a bulk memory controller of the bulkmemory at 200, since a majority of the traffic for folding may involvethe bulk memory. Alternatively or additionally, the reflective copymodule 120 may be located in a separate FPGA device.

According to examples, a number of the reflective copy modules maycorrespond to a number of CPU sockets, or more than one reflective copymodule 120 may be utilized per CPU socket. Alternatively oradditionally, a single reflective copy module 120 may be implemented tocontrol movement of any content from the source 114 to the destination116. The folding activity implemented by the reflective copy module 120may be expected to be a continuous “annealing”, where the operatingsystem or hypervisor may perform the moves at a speed that is sufficientto keep the computer system 110 balanced. The balance may be definedover an extended period of time to avoid wasted movement due to shortbursts of activity. The bulk memory may absorb bursts as long as mostpages are balanced in the correct location.

Referring to FIG. 5, a host (on behalf of the hypervisor) may use thereflective copy module 120 in conjunction with page tables (e.g.,similar to the page table 118) to effect the move of the content 106transparently. The reflective copy module 120 may include an addressrange in memory mapped input/output (which may be a write combinedrange, not cached with write back). This address range of the reflectivecopy module 120 may be equal to the size of the page 122 (e.g., the sizeof the memory address range 124). For example, the hypervisor pages maybe 2 MB (but other sizes may be programmed, for example 4 kB or 1 GB, oron an ARM64 computer a 1 MB or 64 MB page may be utilized).

The reflective copy module 120 may be programmed, for example, by ahost, with an identification of the source 114 and the destination 116.Thereafter, the second level page table 118 (e.g., the page table 118translating guest to system physical addresses) entry for the source 114may be changed (e.g., flipped) to point to the input/output map range ofthe reflective copy module 120. The reflective copy module 120 may nowexecute the copy operation. In this regard, the logical address used byan application that generates the request 104 may be routed to thereflective copy module 120 instead of the source 114. Thus, once thepage table 118 entry is changed to point to the reflective copy module120, the reflective copy module 120 may satisfy a read/write request byperforming the request using the source 114 or the destination 116.

When the copy operation is complete, the host may update the page table118 entry again, this time to point to the destination 116. In thisregard, the page table 118 entry for that logical address is changed topoint to the physical destination. After the update of the page table118 entry to point to the destination 116 has taken effect, thereflective copy module 120 may be reset to idle or to perform anotheroperation. The source range may no longer be used by the guest (e.g.,that generates the request 104).

The reflective copy module 120 may be implemented in devices thatinclude dual/hybrid access both through DDR and/or through PCIe.

The request 104 to the reflective copy module 120 may be based, forexample, on the use of counters that perform a per-page activity count.For example, a counter may be provided for each page of the computermemory 108. Whenever a read and/or write is associated with a page, acount value may be incremented for the page. If a number of count valuesfor a page exceed a specified threshold for a given time duration, thepage may be moved to a higher specified performance tier (e.g., frombulk memory that belongs to a lower specified performance tier to DRAMthat belongs to a higher specified performance tier). Alternatively, ifa number of count values for a page are less than a specified thresholdfor a given time duration, the page may be moved to a lower specifiedperformance tier (e.g., from DRAM to bulk memory). The request 104 maytherefore correspond to movement of such pages.

FIGS. 6-8 respectively illustrate an example block diagram 600, aflowchart of an example method 700, and a further example block diagram800 for computer memory content movement, according to examples. Theblock diagram 600, the method 700, and the block diagram 800 may beimplemented on the apparatus 100 described above with reference to FIG.1 by way of example and not of limitation. The block diagram 600, themethod 700, and the block diagram 800 may be practiced in otherapparatus. In addition to showing the block diagram 600, FIG. 6 showshardware of the apparatus 100 that may execute the instructions of theblock diagram 600. The hardware may include a processor 602, and amemory 604 storing machine readable instructions that when executed bythe processor cause the processor to perform the instructions of theblock diagram 600. The memory 604 may represent a non-transitorycomputer readable medium. FIG. 7 may represent an example method forcomputer memory content movement, and the steps of the method. FIG. 8may represent a non-transitory computer readable medium 802 havingstored thereon machine readable instructions to provide computer memorycontent movement according to an example. The machine readableinstructions, when executed, cause a processor 804 to perform theinstructions of the block diagram 800 also shown in FIG. 8.

The processor 602 of FIG. 6 and/or the processor 804 of FIG. 8 mayinclude a single or multiple processors or other hardware processingcircuit, to execute the methods, functions and other processes describedherein. These methods, functions and other processes may be embodied asmachine readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium,which may be non-transitory (e.g., the non-transitory computer readablemedium 802 of FIG. 8), such as hardware storage devices (e.g., RAM(random access memory), ROM (read only memory), EPROM (erasable,programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable ROM),hard drives, and flash memory). The memory 604 may include a RAM, wherethe machine readable instructions and data for a processor may resideduring runtime.

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, and particularly to the block diagram 600 shownin FIG. 6, the memory 604 may include instructions 606 to ascertain arequest 104 associated with content 106 of computer memory 108.

The processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions 608 todetermine whether the request 104 is directed to the content 106 that isto be moved from a source 114 of the computer memory 108 to adestination 116 of the computer memory 108.

Based on a determination that the request 104 is directed to the content106 that is to be moved from the source 114 to the destination 116, theprocessor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions 610 todetermine whether the content 106 is at the source 114, is in a processof being moved from the source 114 to the destination 116, or has beenmoved from the source 114 to the destination 116.

Based on a determination that the content 106 is at the source 114, theprocessor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions 612 toperform the request 104 associated with the content 106 using the source114.

Based on a determination that the content 106 is in the process of beingmoved from the source 114 to the destination 116, the processor 602 mayfetch, decode, and execute the instructions 614 to perform the request104 associated with the content 106 using the source 114.

Based on a determination that the content 106 has been moved from thesource 114 to the destination 116, the processor 602 may fetch, decode,and execute the instructions 616 to perform the request 104 associatedwith the content 106 using the destination 116.

According to examples disclosed herein, the instructions to determinewhether the request 104 is directed to the content 106 that is to bemoved from the source 114 to the destination 116 may further compriseinstructions to cause the processor to determine, based on an analysisof a map page table 118, whether the request 104 is directed to thecontent 106 that is to be moved from the source 114 to the destination116. In this regard, the map page table 118 may include an indication ofwhether the content 106 is located at the source 114, at the destination116, or is to be moved from the source 114 to the destination 116.Further, the processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute theinstructions to direct guest access to the content 106 based on theindication of whether the content 106 is located at the source 114, atthe destination 116, or is to be moved from the source 114 to thedestination 116.

According to examples disclosed herein, the computer memory 108 mayinclude a page 122 that includes the content 106, and the page 122 maybe specified to be moved from the source 114 to the destination 116. Inthis regard, the instructions to determine whether the content 106 is atthe source 114, is in the process of being moved from the source 114 tothe destination 116, or has been moved from the source 114 to thedestination 116 may further comprise instructions to cause the processorto determine, for the page 122 that includes a memory address range 124,whether the content 106 is included in a portion of the memory addressrange 124 for which all contents have been moved from the source 114 tothe destination 116. Based on a determination that the content 106 isincluded in the portion of the memory address range 124, the processor602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions to perform therequest 104 associated with the content 106 using the destination 116.Further, based on a determination that the content 106 is not includedin the portion of the memory address range 124, the processor 602 mayfetch, decode, and execute the instructions to perform the request 104associated with the content 106 using the source 114.

According to examples disclosed herein, the source 114 and thedestination 116 may be assigned to different performance tiers orsections of the computer memory 108.

According to examples disclosed herein, the processor 602 may fetch,decode, and execute the instructions to assign, to the content 106, alogical address that is independent of the source 114 and thedestination 116. Further, the processor 602 may fetch, decode, andexecute the instructions to ascertain, from the request 104, the logicaladdress. The processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute theinstructions to determine, based on the ascertained logical address,whether the request 104 is directed to the content 106 that is to bemoved from the source 114 of the computer memory 108 to the destination116 of the computer memory 108. Based on the determination that thecontent 106 is at the source 114, the processor 602 may fetch, decode,and execute the instructions to perform, based on mapping of theascertained logical address to a source physical address (e.g., aphysical address assigned to the source 114) assigned to the content106, the request 104 associated with the content 106 using the source114. Based on the determination that the content 106 is in the processof being moved from the source 114 to the destination 116, the processor602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions to perform, based onmapping of the ascertained logical address to the source physicaladdress assigned to the content 106, the request 104 associated with thecontent 106 using the source 114. Based on the determination that thecontent 106 has been moved from the source 114 to the destination 116,the processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions toperform, based on mapping of the ascertained logical address to adestination physical address (e.g., a physical address assigned to thedestination 116) assigned to the content 106, the request 104 associatedwith the content 106 using the destination 116. The source physicaladdress and the destination physical address may be different from theascertained logical address.

According to examples disclosed herein, the processor 602 may fetch,decode, and execute the instructions to assign, to the content 106, alogical address that is independent of the source 114 and thedestination 116. The processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute theinstructions to ascertain, from the request 104, the logical address.The processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions todetermine, based on the ascertained logical address, whether the request104 is directed to the content 106 that is to be moved from the source114 of the computer memory 108 to the destination 116 of the computermemory 108. Based on a determination that the content 106 is to be movedfrom the source 114 to the destination 116, the processor 602 may fetch,decode, and execute the instructions to perform, based on a movementstatus of the content 106, and a mapping, based on the movement status,of the ascertained logical address to a source physical address assignedto the content 106 or a destination physical address assigned to thecontent 106, the request 104 associated with the content 106 using thesource 114 or the destination 116. Based on a determination that thecontent 106 is not to be moved from the source 114 to the destination116, the processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructionsto perform, based on a location of the content 106 and the mapping ofthe ascertained logical address to the source physical address assignedto the content 106 or the destination physical address assigned to thecontent 106, the request 104 associated with the content 106 using thesource 114 or the destination 116. In this regard, the source physicaladdress and the destination physical address may be different from theascertained logical address.

According to examples disclosed herein, the instructions to determinewhether the request 104 is directed to the content 106 that is to bemoved from the source 114 of the computer memory 108 to the destination116 of the computer memory 108 further comprise instructions to causethe processor to determine whether the request 104 is directed to thecontent 106 that is to be copied from the source 114 of the computermemory 108 to the destination 116 of the computer memory 108.

According to examples disclosed herein, the processor 602 may fetch,decode, and execute the instructions to determine, for the content 106,whether a number of accesses to the source 114 exceeds a specifiedthreshold for a specified time duration. Further, based on adetermination, for the content 106, that the number of accesses to thesource 114 exceeds the specified threshold for the specified timeduration, the processor 602 may fetch, decode, and execute theinstructions to indicate that the content 106 is to be moved from thesource 114 to the destination 116.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5 and 7, and particularly FIG. 7, for the method700, at block 702, the method may include ascertaining a request 104associated with content 106 of computer memory 108.

At block 704, the method may include determining, based on an analysisof a map page table 118, whether the request 104 is directed to thecontent 106 that is to be moved from a source 114 of the computer memory108 to a destination 116 of the computer memory 108. In this regard, themap page table 118 may include an indication of whether the content 106is located at the source 114, at the destination 116, or is to be movedfrom the source 114 to the destination 116.

At block 706, based on a determination that the request 104 is directedto the content 106 that is to be moved from the source 114 to thedestination 116, the method may include determining whether the content106 is at the source 114, is in a process of being moved from the source114 to the destination 116, or has been moved from the source 114 to thedestination 116.

At block 708, based on a determination that the content 106 is at thesource 114, the method may include performing the request 104 associatedwith the content 106 using the source 114.

At block 710, based on a determination that the content 106 is in theprocess of being moved from the source 114 to the destination 116, themethod may include performing the request 104 associated with thecontent 106 using the source 114.

At block 712, based on a determination that the content 106 has beenmoved from the source 114 to the destination 116, the method may includeperforming the request 104 associated with the content 106 using thedestination 116.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5 and 8, and particularly FIG. 8, for the blockdiagram 800, the non-transitory computer readable medium 802 may includeinstructions 806 to ascertain a request 104 associated with content 106of computer memory 108.

The processor 804 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions 808 todetermine, from the request 104, a logical address associated with thecontent 106.

The processor 804 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions 810 todetermine, based on the logical address, whether the request 104 isdirected to the content 106 that is to be moved from a source 114 of thecomputer memory 108 to a destination 116 of the computer memory 108.

Based on a determination that the request 104 is directed to the content106 that is to be moved from the source 114 to the destination 116, theprocessor 804 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions 812 todetermine, based on the logical address, whether the content 106 is atthe source 114, is in a process of being moved from the source 114 tothe destination 116, or has been moved from the source 114 to thedestination 116.

Based on a determination that the content 106 is at the source 114, theprocessor 804 may fetch, decode, and execute the instructions 814 toperform, based on mapping of the logical address to a source physicaladdress assigned to the content 106 (e.g., using the map page table118), the request 104 associated with the content 106 using the source114.

Based on a determination that the content 106 is in the process of beingmoved from the source 114 to the destination 116, the processor 804 mayfetch, decode, and execute the instructions 816 to perform, based onmapping of the logical address to the source physical address assignedto the content 106, the request 104 associated with the content 106using the source 114.

Based on a determination that the content 106 has been moved from thesource 114 to the destination 116, the processor 804 may fetch, decode,and execute the instructions 818 to perform, based on mapping of thelogical address to a destination physical address assigned to thecontent 106, the request 104 associated with the content 106 using thedestination 116.

According to examples disclosed herein, based on the determination thatthe request 104 is directed to the content 106 that is to be moved fromthe source 114 to the destination 116, the processor 804 may fetch,decode, and execute the instructions to prepare a reflective copyoperation to begin a reflective copy of the content 106 from the source114 to the destination 116. The processor 804 may fetch, decode, andexecute the instructions to update, at the beginning of the reflectivecopy, a map page table 118 to direct guest access to a controller (e.g.,the reflective copy module 120) associated with the reflective copyoperation. The processor 804 may fetch, decode, and execute theinstructions to modify, upon completion of the reflective copyoperation, the map page table 118 to direct the guest access to thedestination 116. Further, the processor 804 may fetch, decode, andexecute the instructions to reset the controller associated with thereflective copy operation to begin a new reflective copy operation.

What has been described and illustrated herein is an example along withsome of its variations. The terms, descriptions and figures used hereinare set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant aslimitations. Many variations are possible within the spirit and scope ofthe subject matter, which is intended to be defined by the followingclaims—and their equivalents—in which all terms are meant in theirbroadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and amemory storing machine readable instructions that when executed by theprocessor cause the processor to: ascertain a request associated withcontent of computer memory; determine whether the request is directed tothe content that is to be moved from a source of the computer memory toa destination of the computer memory by determining, based on ananalysis of a map page table, whether the request is directed to thecontent that is to be moved from the source to the destination, whereinthe map page table includes an indication of whether the content islocated at the source, is located at the destination, or is to be movedfrom the source to the destination; based on a determination that therequest is directed to the content that is to be moved from the sourceto the destination, initiate a reflective copy operation to begin areflective copy of the content from the source to the destination, anddetermine whether the content is at the source, is in a process of beingmoved from the source to the destination, or has been moved from thesource to the destination; based on a determination that the content isat the source, perform the request associated with the content using thesource; update, at the beginning of the reflective copy, the map pagetable to direct guest access to an address of a controller associatedwith the reflective copy operation, and based on a determination thatthe content is in the process of being moved from the source to thedestination, perform, using the controller, the request associated withthe content using the source; modify, upon completion of the reflectivecopy operation, the map page table to direct the guest access from theaddress of the controller associated with the reflective copy operationto the destination, and based on a determination that the content hasbeen moved from the source to the destination, perform the requestassociated with the content using the destination; and reset thecontroller associated with the reflective copy operation to begin a newreflective copy operation.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the computer memory includes a page that includes the content,the page is to be moved from the source to the destination, and theinstructions to determine whether the content is at the source, in theprocess of being moved from the source to the destination, or has beenmoved from the source is to the destination further compriseinstructions to cause the processor to: determine, for the page thatincludes a memory address range, whether the content is included in aportion of the memory address range for which all contents have beenmoved from the source to the destination; based on a determination thatthe content is included in the portion of the memory address range,perform the request associated with the content using the destination;and based on a determination that the content is not included in theportion of the memory address range, perform the request associated withthe content using the source.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the source and the destination are assigned to differentperformance tiers or sections of the computer memory.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the instructions to ascertain the requestassociated with content of computer memory, determine whether therequest is directed to the content that is to be moved from the sourceof the computer memory to the destination of the computer memory, basedon the determination that the content is at the source, perform therequest associated with the content using the source, update, at thebeginning of the reflective copy, the map page table to direct guestaccess to the address of the controller associated with the reflectivecopy operation, and based on the determination that the content is inthe process of being moved from the source to the destination, perform,using the controller, the request associated with the content using thesource, and modify, upon completion of the reflective copy operation,the map page table to direct the guest access from the address of thecontroller associated with the reflective copy operation to thedestination, and based on the determination that the content has beenmoved from the source to the destination, perform the request associatedwith the content using the destination further comprise instructions tocause the processor to: assign, to the content, a logical address thatis independent of the source and the destination; ascertain, from therequest, the logical address; determine, based on the ascertainedlogical address, whether the request is directed to the content that isto be moved from the source of the computer memory to the destination ofthe computer memory; based on the determination that the content is atthe source, perform, based on mapping of the ascertained logical addressto a source physical address assigned to the content, the requestassociated with the content using the source; update, at the beginningof the reflective copy, the map page table to direct guest access to theaddress of the controller associated with the reflective copy operation,and based on the determination that the content is in the process ofbeing moved from the source to the destination, perform, using thecontroller, based on mapping of the ascertained logical address to thesource physical address assigned to the content, the request associatedwith the content using the source; and modify, upon completion of thereflective copy operation, the map page table to direct the guest accessfrom the address of the controller associated with the reflective copyoperation to the destination, and based on the determination that thecontent has been moved from the source to the destination, perform,based on mapping of the ascertained logical address to a destinationphysical address assigned to the content, the request associated withthe content using the destination, wherein the source physical addressand the destination physical address are different from the ascertainedlogical address.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theinstructions to ascertain the request associated with content ofcomputer memory, and determine whether the request is directed to thecontent that is to be moved from the source of the computer memory tothe destination of the computer memory further comprise instructions tocause the processor to: assign, to the content, a logical address thatis independent of the source and the destination; ascertain, from therequest, the logical address; determine, based on the ascertainedlogical address, whether the request is directed to the content that isto be moved from the source of the computer memory to the destination ofthe computer memory; based on a determination that the content is to bemoved from the source to the destination, perform, based on a movementstatus of the content, and a mapping, based on the movement status, ofthe ascertained logical address to a source physical address assigned tothe content or a destination physical address assigned to the content,the request associated with the content using the source or thedestination; and based on a determination that the content is not to bemoved from the source to the destination, perform, based on a locationof the content and the mapping of the ascertained logical address to thesource physical address assigned to the content or the destinationphysical address assigned to the content, the request associated withthe content using the source or the destination, wherein the sourcephysical address and the destination physical address are different fromthe ascertained logical address.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the instructions to determine whether the request is directed tothe content that is to be moved from the source of the computer memoryto the destination of the computer memory further comprise instructionsto cause the processor to: determine whether the request is directed tothe content that is to be copied from the source of the computer memoryto the destination of the computer memory.
 7. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the instructions are further to cause the processor to:determine, for the content, whether a number of accesses to the sourceis less than a specified threshold for a specified time duration; andbased on a determination, for the content, that the number of accessesto the source is less than the specified threshold for the specifiedtime duration, indicate that the content is to be moved from the sourceto the destination.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theinstructions are further to cause the processor to: determine, for thecontent, whether a number of accesses to the source exceeds a specifiedthreshold for a specified time duration; based on a determination, forthe content, that the number of accesses to the source exceeds thespecified threshold for the specified time duration, indicate that thecontent is to be moved from the source to the destination; determine,for the content, whether the number of accesses to the source is lessthan the specified threshold for the specified time duration; and basedon a determination, for the content, that the number of accesses to thesource is less than the specified threshold for the specified timeduration, indicate that the content is to be moved from the source toanother destination.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theinstructions are further to cause the processor to: determine, for thecontent, whether a number of accesses to the source exceeds a specifiedthreshold for a specified time duration; based on a determination, forthe content, that the number of accesses to the source exceeds thespecified threshold for the specified time duration, indicate that thecontent is to be moved from the source to the destination; determine,for the content, whether the number of accesses to the source is lessthan another specified threshold for another specified time duration;and based on a determination, for the content, that the number ofaccesses to the source is less than the other specified threshold forthe other specified time duration, indicate that the content is to bemoved from the source to another destination.
 10. A computer implementedmethod comprising: ascertaining, by at least one processor, a requestassociated with content of computer memory; determining, by the at leastone processor and based on an analysis of a map page table, whether therequest is directed to the content that is to be moved from a source ofthe computer memory to a destination of the computer memory, wherein themap page table includes an indication of whether the content is locatedat the source, at the destination, or is to be moved from the source tothe destination; based on a determination that the request is directedto the content that is to be moved from the source to the destination,initiating a reflective copy operation to begin a reflective copy of thecontent from the source to the destination, and determining, by the atleast one processor, whether the content is at the source, is in aprocess of being moved from the source to the destination, or has beenmoved from the source to the destination; based on a determination thatthe content is at the source, performing, by the at least one processor,the request associated with the content using the source; updating, atthe beginning of the reflective copy, the map page table to direct guestaccess to an address of a controller associated with the reflective copyoperation, and based on a determination that the content is in theprocess of being moved from the source to the destination, performing,by the at least one processor, using the controller, the requestassociated with the content using the source; and modifying, uponcompletion of the reflective copy operation, the map page table todirect the guest access from the address of the controller associatedwith the reflective copy operation to the destination, and based on adetermination that the content has been moved from the source to thedestination, performing, by the at least one processor, the requestassociated with the content using the destination.
 11. The computerimplemented method according to claim 10, wherein the computer memoryincludes a page that includes the content, the page is to be moved fromthe source to the destination, and determining, by the at least oneprocessor, whether the content is at the source, is in the process ofbeing moved from the source to the destination, or has been moved fromthe source to the destination further comprises: determining, by the atleast one processor and for the page that includes a memory addressrange, whether the content is included in a portion of the memoryaddress range for which all contents have been moved from the source tothe destination; based on a determination that the content is includedin the portion of the memory address range, performing, by the at leastone processor, the request associated with the content using thedestination; and based on a determination that the content is notincluded in the portion of the memory address range, performing, by theat least one processor, the request associated with the content usingthe source.
 12. The computer implemented method according to claim 10,further comprising: assigning, by the at least one processor, the sourceand the destination to different performance tiers of the computermemory.
 13. The computer implemented method according to claim 10,wherein determining, by the at least one processor and based on theanalysis of the map page table, whether the request is directed to thecontent that is to be moved from the source of the computer memory tothe destination of the computer memory further comprises: determining,by the at least one processor and based on the analysis of the map pagetable, whether the request is directed to the content that is to becopied from the source of the computer memory to the destination of thecomputer memory.
 14. The computer implemented method according to claim10, further comprising: determining, by the at least one processor andfor the content, whether a number of accesses to the source is less thana specified threshold for a specified time duration; and based on adetermination, for the content, that the number of accesses to thesource is less than the specified threshold for the specified timeduration, indicating, by the at least one processor, that the content isto be moved from the source to the destination.
 15. The computerimplemented method according to claim 10, wherein ascertaining, by theat least one processor, the request associated with content of computermemory, determining, by the at least one processor and based on ananalysis of a map page table, whether the request is directed to thecontent that is to be moved from the source of the computer memory tothe destination of the computer memory, based on the determination thatthe content is at the source, performing, by the at least one processor,the request associated with the content using the source, updating, atthe beginning of the reflective copy, the map page table to direct guestaccess to the address of the controller associated with the reflectivecopy operation, and based on the determination that the content is inthe process of being moved from the source to the destination,performing, by the at least one processor, using the controller, therequest associated with the content using the source, and modifying,upon completion of the reflective copy operation, the map page table todirect the guest access from the address of the controller associatedwith the reflective copy operation to the destination, and based on thedetermination that the content has been moved from the source to thedestination, performing, by the at least one processor, the requestassociated with the content using the destination further comprises:assigning, by the at least one processor and to the content, a logicaladdress that is independent of the source and the destination;ascertaining, by the at least one processor and from the request, thelogical address; determining, by the at least one processor and based onthe ascertained logical address, whether the request is directed to thecontent that is to be moved from the source of the computer memory tothe destination of the computer memory; based on the determination thatthe content is at the source, performing, by the at least one processorand based on mapping of the ascertained logical address to a sourcephysical address assigned to the content, the request associated withthe content using the source; updating, at the beginning of thereflective copy, the map page table to direct guest access to theaddress of the controller associated with the reflective copy operation,and based on the determination that the content is in the process ofbeing moved from the source to the destination, performing, by the atleast one processor, using the controller, and based on mapping of theascertained logical address to the source physical address assigned tothe content, the request associated with the content using the source;and modifying, upon completion of the reflective copy operation, the mappage table to direct the guest access from the address of the controllerassociated with the reflective copy operation to the destination, andbased on the determination that the content has been moved from thesource to the destination, performing, by the at least one processor andbased on mapping of the ascertained logical address to a destinationphysical address assigned to the content, the request associated withthe content using the destination, wherein the source physical addressand the destination physical address are different from the ascertainedlogical address.
 16. The computer implemented method according to claim10, wherein ascertaining, by the at least one processor, the requestassociated with content of computer memory, and determining, by the atleast one processor, whether the request is directed to the content thatis to be moved from the source of the computer memory to the destinationof the computer memory further comprises: assigning, by the at least oneprocessor and to the content, a logical address that is independent ofthe source and the destination; ascertaining, by the at least oneprocessor and from the request, the logical address; determining, by theat least one processor and based on the ascertained logical address,whether the request is directed to the content that is to be moved fromthe source of the computer memory to the destination of the computermemory; based on a determination that the content is to be moved fromthe source to the destination, performing, by the at least one processorand based on a movement status of the content, and a mapping, based onthe movement status, of the ascertained logical address to a sourcephysical address assigned to the content or a destination physicaladdress assigned to the content, the request associated with the contentusing the source or the destination; and based on a determination thatthe content is not to be moved from the source to the destination,performing, by the at least one processor and based on a location of thecontent and the mapping of the ascertained logical address to the sourcephysical address assigned to the content or the destination physicaladdress assigned to the content, the request associated with the contentusing the source or the destination, wherein the source physical addressand the destination physical address are different from the ascertainedlogical address.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingstored thereon machine readable instructions, the machine readableinstructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:ascertain a request associated with content of computer memory;determine, from the request, a logical address associated with thecontent; determine, based on the logical address and based on ananalysis of a map page table, whether the request is directed to thecontent that is to be moved from a source of the computer memory to adestination of the computer memory, wherein the map page table includesan indication of whether the content is located at the source, at thedestination, or is to be moved from the source to the destination; basedon a determination that the request is directed to the content that isto be moved from the source to the destination, initiate a reflectivecopy operation to begin a reflective copy of the content from the sourceto the destination, and determine, based on the logical address, whetherthe content is at the source, is in a process of being moved from thesource to the destination, or has been moved from the source to thedestination; based on a determination that the content is at the source,perform, based on mapping of the logical address to a source physicaladdress assigned to the content, the request associated with the contentusing the source; update, at the beginning of the reflective copy, themap page table to direct guest access to an address of a controllerassociated with the reflective copy operation, and based on adetermination that the content is in the process of being moved from thesource to the destination, perform, using the controller and based onmapping of the logical address to the source physical address assignedto the content, the request associated with the content using thesource; and modify, upon completion of the reflective copy operation,the map page table to direct the guest access from the address of thecontroller associated with the reflective copy operation to thedestination, and based on a determination that the content has beenmoved from the source to the destination, perform, based on mapping ofthe logical address to a destination physical address assigned to thecontent, the request associated with the content using the destination,wherein the source physical address and the destination physical addressare different from the logical address.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium according to claim 17, wherein the computer memoryincludes a page that includes the content, the page is to be moved fromthe source to the destination, and the machine readable instructions todetermine, based on the logical address, whether the content is at thesource, is in the process of being moved from the source to thedestination, or has been moved from the source to the destination, whenexecuted by the processor, further cause the processor to: determine,for the page that includes a memory address range, whether the contentis included in a portion of the memory address range for which allcontents have been moved from the source to the destination; based on adetermination that the content is included in the portion of the memoryaddress range, perform the request associated with the content using thedestination; and based on a determination that the content is notincluded in the portion of the memory address range, perform the requestassociated with the content using the source.